What is I-O?

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology is the scientific
study of the workplace. Rigor and methods of psychology are
applied to issues of critical relevance to business,
including talent management, coaching, assessment,
selection, training, organizational development,
performance, and work-life balance.

Types of Test Item Formats

Introduction

Just as there are several
types of tests available to help employers make employment decisions, there are
also several types of test formats.In
this section, the pros and cons of general types of test item formats are
described.Also, some general
guidelines for using different types of test item formats are provided.

Before deciding on a
particular type of test format, you should first establish a) does testing make
sense (see section on Employment
Testing Overview) and b) what it is you want to assess (see section on
Establishing
an Effective Employee Testing Program).The determination of what it is you want to measure with the test should
precede the determination of how you are going to measure it.

Pros and Cons of Multiple Choice Test Items

PROS

CONS

Can
be used to test many levels of learning

Test
takers may perceive questions to be tricky or too picky

Can
be used to test a persons ability to integrate information

Difficult
to test attitudes towards learning because correct responses can be
easily faked

Can
be used to diagnose a persons difficulty with certain concepts

Does
not allow test takers to demonstrate knowledge beyond the options
provided

Can
provide test takers with feedback about why distractors were wrong and
why correct answers were right

Requires
a great deal of time to construct effective multiple choice questions,
especially ones that test higher levels of learning

Can
ask more questions, greater coverage of material

Encourages
guessing because one option is always right

Can
cover a wide range of difficulty levels

Test
takers may misinterpret questions

Usually
requires less time for test takers to answer

Usually
easily scored and graded

Pros and Cons of True-False Test Items

PROS

CONS

Can
ask more questions for greater coverage of material

Does
not allow test takers to demonstrate broad range of knowledge

Can
cover a wide range of difficulty levels

Is
difficult to construct effective true-false items that test higher
levels of learning

Usually
requires less time for test takers to answer

Encourages
guessing due to 50/50 chance of being correct

Usually
easily graded and scored

Is
easily faked, difficult to test attitudes toward learning

Pros and Cons of Essay Test Items

PROS

CONS

Can test
complex learning objectives

Usually
takes more time to answer

Can test
processes used to answer the question such as the ability to integrate
ideas and synthesize information

Can be
unreliable in assessing the entire content of a course or topic area

Requires
use of writing skills, correct spelling, and grammar

Essay
answers are often written poorly because test takers may not have time to
organize and proofread answers